ORANGE DISTRICT PINEWOOD DERBY RULES 2008-2009 
Cubmasters are responsible for distributing these District Rules!! 


1. 
The following construction rules apply to all categories -Fastest, Most Beautiful and 
Most Original. 
2. 
Parents are asked to REFRAIN from DIRECT WORK on building the cars. Parental 
participation as teachers, supervisors and coaches is strongly encouraged, but this 
event should have the desired benefit as a learning activity for the SCOUT. Most of the 
labor must be his own. 
The use of power tools, especially cutting tools such as table saws, band saws, etc., is 
discouraged. These are extremely dangerous in the hands of Cub Scouts, and only 
encourage more parent participation than is necessary. The use of hand tools such as 
hand saws, coping saws, sanding blocks, planes, etc. is a part of advancement 
activities for all ranks, and should be should be encouraged for Derby building. 

Packs are encouraged to hold an Open/Parents/Siblings race for family members to 
build cars and participate in the Pinewood Derby experience. However, there will NOT 
be a separate Open Category race at the District Derby. 

3. 
Registered Cub Scouts  Tigers, Wolf, Bear, and Webelos  will be eligible to 
participate in the District Pinewood Derby, as will any Scout who won in any category at 
his Pack Derby as a Webelos, but who has since crossed over to Boy Scouts. 
4. 
A Cub Scout or Webelos Scout may build more than one car, but may only enter one 
car in the race. 
5. 
To enter the District Derby, a Scout's car must have placed in a Pack's Derby held since 
September 1 of the year prior to the district race. No car built prior to September 1 of 
that year may be entered. For example, if the district race is March 1, 2000, a car must 
have been built on or after September 1, 1999 and placed in a Pack race on or after 
that same date. 
6. 
Each Cub Scout or Webelos Scout entrant is requested to be in official Scout uniform. 
7. 
Each car will be entered in the category that it won in the Pack Derby -Fastest, Most 
Beautiful, or Most Original. A pack may be represented by a maximum of three (3) cars 
per category, a total of nine (9) cars per pack. Cars may only be entered in a single 
category at the District race. If a car wins in multiple categories at the Pack event, the 
Scout must choose in which category he wants to compete at the District Derby. Packs 
are encouraged to limit winners at the Pack level to one category as well to enable more 
Scouts to move on to the District competition. 
8. 
At the conclusion of the Pack Derby, the Cubmaster (or representative) will impound the 
winning cars (if they are going to compete in the District Derby). The Cubmaster (or 
representative) will register all nine cars at the District Derby. Packs should notify the 
District Derby Committee of the entrant names and their categories by February 27th. 
Cubmasters should take care to pack and store the impounded cars to ensure that no 
damage occurs to their performance, appearance or finish. 
9. 
If a car owner is unable to attend the district Derby, he may designate another Cub 
Scout (not adult) to stand in for him. The Scout representing the car at the Derby (owner 
or designee) will be known as the car driver. 
10.Once registered, NO ONE except Derby officials and car drivers may touch the cars. 

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ORANGE DISTRICT PINEWOOD DERBY RULES 2008-2009 


11.ALL CARS must be able to run all the way down the track and past the finish line to be 
entered in ANY CATEGORY. 

12.EACH CAR MUST BE INSPECTED for compliance to the construction rules prior to 
being registered. These rules apply to ALL CATEGORIES. Once it passes inspection, 
the car will then be labeled with its entry number. 

13.Each car MUST be built by a Cub Scout or Webelos Scout using the materials in an 
Official BSA Pinewood Derby Car Kit. This includes the pinewood block, axles and 
wheels. With the exception of decorative and construction items such as weights, glue, 
lubricants, and finishing materials, ONLY the materials from an official kit may be used. 
Separately purchased specially prepared items such as contoured pinewood blocks or 
machined wheels are specifically PROHIBITED. Parts and portions of cars built in prior 
years may NOT be used in the construction of the car. 

14.The overall length of the car shall not exceed 7 inches (17.8 cm). 

15.The overall width of the car shall not exceed 2 3/4 inches (7.0 cm). 

16.The overall height of the car shall not exceed 12 inches (30.48 cm). 

17.The weight of the car shall not exceed 5 ounces (141.7 grams). The recommended 
method of weighing cars is with a digital postal scale set to measure in grams (less than 
or equal to 141 grams  3 significant digits of precision), rather than set to ounces (less 
than or equal to 5.0 ounces  2 significant digits of precision). 

18.Cars must have a minimum of 3/8-inch (1.0 cm) clearance from the bottom of the car to 
the track. 

19.No loose materials are permitted on or in the car. 

20.The car may be hollowed out and built up to the maximum weight by addition of 
weights, provided the car continues to meet the other construction requirements. 

21.The car may not ride on any type of springs. 

22.The car must be freewheeling with no starting devices or propulsion devices, e.g. 
springs, bottle rockets, balloons or CO2 cartridges. Movable weights are prohibited, as 
is the use of a liquid weight such as water or mercury. 

23.The distance between the front and rear wheels cannot be altered. The axle cutouts 
provided in the blocks MUST be used. These may be redrilled, but NEW HOLES are 
prohibited. 

24.Purely decorative items such as steering wheels, drivers, decals and paint are 
permissible, as long as they meet other listed requirements. 

25.BSA Pinewood Derby kit axles may be polished. 

26.Only DRY lubricants (e.g. graphite) may be used on axles. 

27.Wheel bearings, washers and bushings are all prohibited. 

28.Rough edges and excess mold flash on the wheels may be sanded, BUT the wheels 
must retain 97% (1.155 inches -29.24 millimeters) of their original diameter, and 100% 
of the running surface must be 90 degrees to the face of the wheel. Alteration of tread 
contours, e.g. rounding, is prohibited. See diagram. 

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ORANGE DISTRICT PINEWOOD DERBY RULES 2008-2009 



OK!!! Not Acceptable 

29.Specific lubrication of the tread is prohibited. 

30.The nose of the car cannot be altered (cut out) in a way that when placed on the 
starting gate, it is past the starting line or is ahead of another car. Cars with pointed 
front ends must be able to rest on their own in the starting gate without moving ahead of 
the starting line or other cars. 

31.After passing inspection, cars will be placed on designated tables and can only be 
handled by the car racer and race officials. After passing inspection, cars may not be 
altered in any way. Note: NO lubrication may be added once the car has been checked 
in. 

32.Cars failing to pass inspection will have until the start of the race to be modified in order 
to meet requirements. Alterations may only be performed in the race area by the car 
driver. A race official will be available to supervise. Parents are not allowed in the race 
area. 

33.The speed (Fastest) winners will be determined by a computerized timing system. 
Every car will run twice on each lane, and the system will SUM the total time from 
running down each lane to determine the winners. Packs do have the option to run 
once on each lane if they choose. The car with the lowest total time will be designated 
the winner. 

34.The Most Beautiful and Most Original winners will be determined by a judge 
committee. Each judge will select three cars and assign a first, second or third 
placement vote. These votes are valued as follows: first place (5 points), second place 
(3 points), and third place (1 point). After this first tally, the top five cars (top five points) 
will be selected and the voting process will be repeated in consideration of the top five 
cars only. Judges will again choose three cars and assign their placement. Votes will 
be tallied using the same point system. The car with the most points will be designated 
the winner. 

35.If a car jumps the track, there is no heat. If the car jumps 2 times in a heat, it will be 
disqualified. 

36.In the event of a tie, all tied cars will race to determine the winner. If there are more 
cars than there are lanes (e.g. three cars with equal times and a 2-lane track), the cars 
will race in a single lane against the clock until a winner can be determined. Otherwise, 
the cars will race against each other in each lane and their times summed as in the 
regulation race until a winner can be determined. 

37.If a wheel comes off, a repair time of 2 minutes is allowed. Only the car driver may 
make repairs. NO ADULT may touch the car. Adults may provide advice and 
suggestions only. 

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38.In case of computer or power failure, winners will be decided by double elimination. A 
car must lose races against 2 different cars to be eliminated. 

39.Double elimination races will consist of 2 heats of 2 cars each. After the first heat, the 
cars will swap track positions and rerun. A car must win on both tracks to win the race. 

40.The decisions of the judges and the Derby Officials will be FINAL. All decisions will be 
made in the Spirit of Scouting, fair play, good sportsmanship and FUN! 

37.Trophies are awarded in all 3 categories. 

38. GOOD LUCK and HAVE FUN! 
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